In the field of data communication, it is common practice to connect different data processing systems together through a local network such as an Ethernet network. This linkage by local network permits different processing systems to exchange data between themselves with full security, in other words without external systems being able to access these data. In certain fields, and in particular in aeronautics, these systems are often installed little by little, depending on the needs and the development of these needs. In general, each of these systems has been installed or modified to solve one or more particular problems.
Consequently, each system is often set up in a particular context with a means of communication that is suitable for it. In particular, in the field of aeronautics, different systems such as computers, data processing applications, simulators, etc. are made by different manufacturers at different times, and thus with different technical development. These different systems are intended to be installed on the same aircraft, for example in the case of data transmission on board an aircraft, or associated with one another, for example in the case in which simulators are coupled with aircraft computers. Each system is thus put in place with a means of communication that is suitable for itself and which depends on the type of data to be processed, on the economic context, and on the technical context of the period in which the system was installed. Thus, each system is studied initially to work by itself and to solve specific problems. However, some data can be used in multiple processing systems. Also, by economizing material and processing time resources, it is common practice to link multiple processing systems to one another through a local network, of the type of an Ethernet network, to form a single communication system also called a communication network. Such a communication system then provides a global heterogeneous architecture.
Because of this heterogeneity of the processing systems, the networking of these systems necessitates adaptation of each of the systems to the means of communication to make the data comprehensible by each of the systems capable of sending or receiving these data. In other words, an unadapted system could not understand the data transmitted from another system. In the same way, the data sent by this system would be incomprehensible and accordingly unusable by the other systems in the network. This adaptation of systems necessitates the installation of means of translation that can translate data produced in the format of one system into the format of another system.
It is therefore understood that the greater the number of systems connected to the network, the more complex it is to configure these means of translation and the more time it takes to integrate these means.
Besides, each time a new system is installed and connected to the network, it is necessary to adapt the means of translation already in place to adapt the new system to the communication ensemble. The translation of the data format of the new system thus must be incorporated into the existing means of translation so that the data from this new system can be comprehensible by the systems already in place on the network.
Furthermore, the maintenance of the communication system ensemble is difficult and critical since each processing system requires different maintenance by different methods. Also, if a system is faltering at a given time, it is impossible to substitute for this system another system of the network to accomplish at least some of its processing, since each system has its own format.
Such a communication system with heterogeneous architecture thus presents the drawbacks cited above, with the consequences that this entails on its operating cost, which depends directly on the time to perfect the translation of the data and to search for the failures.